All these goodbyes, and no Hello
by TheOneMrsRobinson
Summary: After three years of best friendship and rivalry of Houses (and Sev's fascination with Dark Arts) can Lily and Severus Snape's friendship last? plenty of LilyxJames. Rated M for sexually suggestive themes and situations. Please review! :) Update 6/6/13: Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while! :( New chapters soon! :) 3 MrsRobinson
1. Chapter 1: Same school, new feelings

It was an uncharacteristically cold day as he approached platform 9 ¾. He had rid himself of his painfully cold mother, Eileen Prince. He now waited alone by a column for his friend's bright, wine-red hair. Severus had not seen her since the beginning of the summer; her father had been promoted, and used the extra money to drag Lily and her family around the country for a vacation all summer.

"I'm sorry, Sev" she had moaned as they sat by a small river in the back of the park. It was their traditional meeting place, where they spent hours upon hours every summer. "You know if I had a choice, I would stay here for you." And she smiled up at him.

The three years they had gone to Hogwarts together, and that smile never failed to make the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. And he didn't see that smile for the next two months.

But now, as he waited by the column on the first of September, he would be warmed by her traditionally over-excited greeting of a hug, fawning that he looked too slim or that his hair had gotten too long. And, almost as if on cue, he saw her flaming hair bobbing over the many first-years nervously glancing this way and that. But before she could rush over to him, she was stopped by someone.

It wasn't like her to scowl, but she glared at whatever the cause of her pausing was. As Severus tilted his head slightly, he scowled as well. James Potter, in his idiotic nerve, Severus thought, had some notion that Lily would enjoy being stopped with questions of what she had done over the summer. To Severus' enjoyment, however, she ignored Potter and dashed to the pale, silky haired boy she had been longing to see all summer.

"Oh Sev, you can't imagine how awful Petunia was this summer! Always teasing me about you, I had half a mind to hex her myself!" Lily wrapped her slender arms around Severus' ribcage (the top of her head barely reached his nose, now), much to the irritation of James Potter, who was still watching her.

"I'm sure it was more tolerable than my summer." He said plainly.

She looked up at him and grimaced slightly. "I guess so. Oh well. We're going back to school!" She was always so happy, Severus thought. The complete opposite of him. How could she stay so happy with someone who lurked about in the shadows like he did?

"Hey Snivellus, try not to grease up Evans so much. I want to at least be able to hold her hand without it slipping at the New Term ball."

Severus glared at James while Lily... _giggled? _What had gotten into her brilliant head this time?

To Severus' dismay, Potter was only further encouraged by that. But, with Severus looming over Lily, he decided not to push his luck.

"He's not as horrid as you make him out to be, Sev." Lily said in a tiny voice that Severus was torn by.

"What's it my business if you go to the ball with him? Or if you let him hold your hand? Or if you s-" He stopped himself, flushing bright red, especially in contrast to his usually pallid face.

Lily scowled at him. "Yes, what business of yours would it be? Just like it's none of my business that you hang around Mulciber, or Bellatrix Black, or" she shuddered, "Lucius Malfoy!"

Without waiting for his reply, she stormed off, only to be rejoined by Potter and his fanclub of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. He headed towards the back compartments, anyway, where he and Lily usually had one to themselves.

James Potter glanced nervously back at Severus Snape. He would be fuming if he noticed Lily standing so close to him. Oh well, he thought, Severus could think what he liked, Lily Evans was sitting with him, Sirius and Remus this year!

"Sorry I was so rude earlier," she had said, "I hadn't seen Sev all summer and I was in a hurry."

Did she really have to talk about him though? "That's okay" he replied, "I guess I don't know the feeling, since Sirius usually stays with us the entire summer."

"I'm pretty sure I exist for the soul purpose of stealing your food, Prongs." Sirius grinned at him as Lily giggled.

She was so pretty. And she was finally talking to him without scowling! Would it be this year? He was fifteen since July, after all. He had really matured in the past three years, and she must have noticed! Not that she hadn't changed at all. She had gotten taller, her hair longer, her face more defined. As she walked, he took notice of what she was wearing. A light pink dress that fit to her waist perfectly. She was perfectly proportionate in every way.

"James?" he heard her say. He looked up at her nervously, had she noticed his eyes? He hadn't been trying to be... well...

"James, this is Jenny Pevuren. She said she wants to ask you something." Lily smiled at him and walked over to chat with Sirius.

"Hi James." Jenny smiled at him. It was nothing like Lily's smile. She was pretty, in that fake way. She wore too much makeup. Her hair was a yellow-blonde, with blue eyes that looked somewhat devoid of emotion. "I was wondering... Would you care to escort me to the New Term Ball?"

Oh, damn. He had forgotten. "Err..." his mind raced, what could he say? "I've... already asked someone!" Her face visibly fell. He felt bad, especially since he had lied.

"Oh.. Okay. I'll see you in McGonagall's first Ravenclaw-Gryffindor class, then." She pouted, and hurried away to join her friends.

"She looked upset." Lily frowned.

"Something about Astronomy over the summer she forgot to do." James muttered. "Lily would you go to the Ball with me?" In an attempt to be heard, he had shouted, and several people (including Severus) now stared at him.

Sirius laughed. "Let's hope she's the only Lily here, mate, or you're in trouble."

Lily glanced back towards Sev, who was determined to glare at the pavement while he walked to the back compartments. "Sure, James." She smiled at him.

They all glanced at the clock, which now read 10:53. "We should hurry." Remus said.

"Yeah, c'mon Lily!" James grinned at her, but she was still biting her lip and glancing back towards that greasy git Snape. Why did she even talk to him, anyway?

"Alright." she muttered, and took his hand into their compartment for the journey back to school.

Once settled, Remus and Sirius sat on one side of the compartment, and James with Lily on the other. Lily had determinedly tucked herself in the corner with _Magical Means for a Magical Evening. _Since she would be going to her first real ball, she figured she would brush up on how to dress, and maybe figure a nicer way to do her hair. It was also a nice distraction from thinking about how angry Sev must be with her right now. She would think of a way to make it up to him, of course. He never seemed to stay angry at her for very long, no matter how much she felt to have deserved it.

"Wow, Lily, I'm surprised your nose isn't paler than the rest of your face with all the time you have your nose in a book." Sirius laughed, breaking his concentration from a game of cards with Remus, and James aimed a half-joking kick at his shin.

"What are you reading?" James inquired, scooting close to her. "Oh, you don't need to be reading that. You can wear anything to the Ball and still look wonderful." He smiled at her. Not his usual dopey grin, but a genuine smile.

She poked his head away from her own jokingly, on the bridge of his round-rimmed glasses. "Good, I was hoping I could borrow Sev's jacket."

Sirius rolled around in fits of laughter on his half of the compartment seat while Remus snickered. James' face turned bright red, and suddenly the thread hanging from his black sweater was very interesting. However, he was determined to know her better. He needed to. She was finally talking to him! "I think blue would look really pretty on you." he said.

She gestured absent-mindedly to her wine-red, firey hair in a manner that said "I think otherwise. He scooted closer to her once more, so that their hips were almost touching.

"Is there something you intend to pry from me, James?"

Sirius couldn't help himself. "Your clothes." He snickered uncontrollably.

Lily's face was as dark red as her hair as she slammed her book shut and took her bag from the top of their compartment. She was probably going to hang out with Snivelly again.

"What'd you have to go and do that for, Padfoot?" James yelled.

"Sorry Prongs, you know I can't help myself. He grinned. "Don't worry, she'll be angry with me, not you."

James stared irritably out the window of their compartment, waiting for time to go by.

Lily slid open the door to their usual compartment carefully. "Sev?" she inquired of noone in particular.

Severus looked up from his own book and brightened slightly at Lily's voice, then his mood dampened further at remembering why she was so late. "Off snogging Potter, are we?"

She opened her mouth to defend herself as soon as he realized how cutting his words had been. "Sorry." he muttered, as he went back to his book. She laughed, being the only person used to his sarcastic mannerisms, and sat down next to him.  
"Don't apologize when we both know you don't mean it." She grinned and poked his ribs.  
He frowned at her. "You know I mean it for you, Lily."  
She blushed, and pulled a book out of her bag. "So, do you want to hear how Potter and his friends embarrassed themselves this time?" She asked.  
"Sure." he said, and listened quietly to her recount of it. He shivered at Potter's face being so close to Lily's. "Why did you agree to go to the ball with him, Lily?"  
She blushed slightly, only this time out of irritation. "He's not as bad as you make him out to be, Sev. And it's not like I would willingly go with _anyone _but you, and Merlin knows you're not going to a ball."  
She was right about that, he had to admit. "But still.." he struggled to find the words. "Potter? Really, Lily?"  
"Let's just not talk about it. I need to get my school robes on, we're going to arrive soon.

As soon as everyone had filtered into the Great Hall, and the first years had been sorted, the traditional feast started. Lily glanced over to the Slytherin's table at Severus, who was staring at Mulciber's lack of table manners in disgust. She was giggling at his expression when Alice nudged her.  
"Lily, are you listening to me? Frank Longbottom asked me to the New Term ball!"  
"Oh, that's great Alice. What did you say?"  
"I said yes, of course! Has anyone asked you, yet?" She inquired, with a barely noticeable flick of her eyes towards slytherin's table.  
"Yes, actually. James Potter."  
Several girls surrounding them gaped at her, a few in jealousy. One girl asked if she had slipped him a love potion.  
"Oh, stop it!" Alice said loudly.  
They ate in silence after that, only to be interrupted by Dumbledore ending the feast with his usual announcement of Quidditch trial dates for each house, the usual warning about the Forbidden Forest for the first years, and other trivial announcements for the popular clubs.  
Back in the Gryffindor commonroom, Alice and Lily sat in front of a window while students filtered in, tired from the feast. One boy got the staircases mixed up and attempted to walk up to the girls' dorms, causing it to turn into a slide and causing mayhem for several minutes.  
"There's always one, eh?" a mischievous voice whispered into her ear.  
She started, and realized James had crept behind her. She scowled at him, and he laughed.  
"Oh no, I'm suddenly very tired. See you later, Lily." Alice said, and rushed up to her room.  
And with that, Lily was in the darkest corner of the commonroom with James.  
"Sorry about Sirius, earlier. He's.. well, Sirius." He ruffled the back of his hair nervously, not that it made any difference, it seemed.  
"That's alright, I suppose. There's probably some truth to it anyway." She grinned wickedly at him, causing his face to turn startlingly close to the color of her hair.  
"Well yeah- Wait no, I mean... Of course you're... Well I'm not going..." He was at a complete loss for words. And she was giggling at him! "You're very pretty." He stated lamely.  
Lily stifled her snickers. "Thanks." They sat next to the window for several minutes in silence, when she realized..  
"Oh no! I forgot my ring on the Gryffindor table." She groaned.  
"We're still allowed out of bed" he said cheerfully, "I'm sure it's still there."  
They walked out of the commonroom together, towards the Great Hall, where they saw several Ravenclaw girls debating who would ask their Seeker to the Ball.  
"Yes! It's still here!" She darted towards where she and Alice had been sitting, and slipped the ring over the middle finger of her right hand. "Thanks, James." She grinned up at him.  
_He's almost as tall as Severus... And he IS pretty handsome.. And he hasn't sneered at anyone, or tried bragging about his skilled catches of the snitch last year.. _Her thoughts trailed along this route as they made their way to the Fat Lady's portrait.  
"Wow, it's really deserted." He pointed out as they arrived.  
"Yeah, that's a longer walk than it is to Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw tower.." she mused.  
"Hey, Lily?"  
"Hmm?" She raised her eyebrows at him, and noticed that he looked uncharacteristically serious. She realized how much he had aged since just the previous May. His jaw was much more defined, his shoulders were wider..  
And then she noticed that he had been leaning ever so slightly towards her. Oh god, was he about to do what he thought he was? She didn't really know what she thought about it. SHe had never kissed anyone! She had only just gotten to really know James!  
Her mind raced frantically as she felt one of his hands on her waist. Not restraining at all, in fact it felt rather nice, as his right hand tilted her face up to his. And as his lips were just about to meet her own..  
"_STUPEFY!" _ a familiar voice shouted from the entrance to the tower. The reddish light, of course, hit James square on the back. Unconscious, he toppled onto Lily, his weight pinning her to the ground. As Lily struggled to breathe, someone lifted James from her and helped her up.  
And, without saying a word, Severus ran from Gryffindor tower.

Severus was absolutely seething with anger as he raced back through the now empty Great Hall and back to his common room.

"Password?"

"Salazar!" He spat, and raced up the stairs to his room, shared now with Regulus Black.

He laid on his bed, trying to calm his breathing. That disgusting brat, Potter, had been honestly about to kiss Lily.

His Lily. And she hadn't tried to even back away.

He turned over, determined to shove the thoughts into the back of his mind, and went to sleep.

Lily sat by James until he stirred (it only took about five minutes) and he immediately tried to jump up and return a curse to whomever had stupefied him.  
"They're gone!" Lily shouted, "But we have to go back up to our dorms."  
"Alright." He muttered. "But first.." He cupped Lily's face in his hands and kissed the girl he had been after these past four years. The girl who would always be perfect to him. And he could have jumped with complete glee that she didn't seem at all bothered.  
In fact, Lily was much less than bothered by this. As James pulled away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely. She almost hoped someone would pass by, and severus would hear of it.  
"LOVERS IN THE HAAAAAAAALL. LOVEEEERSS IN THE HAAAAAALLLL. OOOHHHH, SLYTHERIES AND RAVENCLAWS AND HUFFLEPUFFSIES EVERYWHERE WILL HEAR OF POTTY'S NEWEST SCANDAL." Peeves the Poltergeist, already? Lily thought. And then, she realized, that she had been pinned (not uncomfortably..) up against the wall by James. Their faces were both quite red as they went through the hole behind the Fat Lady's portrait and made their way to their own rooms.

The next morning, at breakfast (After they had received their new schedules, and discovered that she, Peter Pettigrew, James, Sirius and Lupin shared several classes with each other and Slytherin) Lily walked over to sit with Severus.  
"Hey Sev!" she said brightly, and she could feel James' eyes on the back of her head.  
He glared up at her, causing her smile to falter. "What do you want, Lily?"  
Lily was taken by surprise in the cold tone he used. She felt her lids get heavy, and moisture gather under them. No, she was not going to be upset by Sev's bad tone with her so easily.  
"I wanted to sit and read with you in the morning, like we usually do, silly." Her voice cracked, revealing that she was not nearly as happy as she was moments earlier.  
"Shouldn't you be eating Potter's face off?" He sneered. "Come to rub it in my face, have you?"  
Lily did not say anything, she simply stood there, blankly staring at him. He stared back.  
And then, she started crying. Bawling. Tears ran wildly down her face as she whimpered and sniffed. Severus immediately snapped from his sarcastic mood, which was replaced by fear and guilt as he tried to apologize. He tried to put his hand on her shoulder, and she pushed it harshly away.  
Oh god, why did everyone have to stare? Severus thought. And of course, to make matters worse, Potter was striding towards their table with Black and Lupin close behind.  
"Please, Lily, I-"  
She turned and tried to run from him, only to slam into Potter, who staggered slightly before wrapping his arms around her and leading her away, with a cold glare towards Severus.  
Re-infuriated, he yelled after her, "So that insufferable git can comfort you and I can't even apologize! You win, Lily! Have it your way!"  
His face bright red, he stormed off to get to Ancient Runes early.


	2. Chapter 2

Lily sat down by Sirius and wiped her red, puffy eyes. How could Severus be so cruel? Granted, he hated James, but couldn't he put that aside for her? It wasn't like she was making him hang around James. In fact, quite the opposite.  
Sirius put his arm around her shoulders, and James' arm found her waist. "It's alright," Sirius said cheerfully, "You've got us! And you've especially got Prongs, here." and he _winked._  
"You told him about..." She didn't know how to continue, and simply looked at James.  
He ruffled his hair awkwardly and laughed. "Well with Peeves yelling about it, he would've found out anyway..." his voice lowered, "and I don't mind people knowing if you don't."  
Sirius' arm still around her shoulder, jabbed James in the face. "Don't go seducing the innocent ones, James." They both laughed, and Lily's face went red.  
"Who are you to say I'm innocent?" She regretted the words as soon as they rolled from her tongue, because Sirius and James were in shock, and then fits of laughter, clutching at their sides as her face turned from pink to tomato-like. Even Remus and Peter were having their share of chuckles as they ate. Her thumbs, sitting in her lap now, were suddenly very interesting.  
James wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. He was _still_ laughing! She wasn't angry, of course. And James looked incredibly handsome when he laughed. But nowhere near that smouldering look he had given her the night before.  
"Hey, Padfoot?"  
"Yeah, Moony?" He raised his eyebrows at Lupin.  
"We should probably head to Ancient Runes."  
"Oh, yeah." James rose from his seat, and held his hand out for Lily. "You have Ancient Runes with us.. Would you sit with me?" He grinned at her like he had just discovered what smiling was.  
"It's alright. You and Sirius always sit with each other." She smiled back, and was careful not to mention that she intended to sit with Severus.  
James' face fell slightly, but he still took her hand. "Alright, but Sirius is taking Muggle Studies instead of Divination to infuriate his family. So you don't have an excuse for our next class."  
She laughed at his determination. "I guess I'll be forced to suffer your presence, then."  
As they turned a corner, she found his hands once again at her waist, and her back against the stone wall. James' mouth found hers instantly, and she ran her hands through his untidy black hair. Soon, she found herself with shortened breath, and her leg braced around his for support.  
Finally, they broke apart, breathless. James coughed. "Sorry about that.. I.. er, I've wanted to do that for a long time."  
"Uhhuh." She muttered, not really acknowledging his words and she adjusted herself to walk into Ancient Runes.  
Severus sat in the front, his hair covering his eyes, already bent over their fourth year textbook, examining the contents in an effort to get a headstart, when Lily perched herself next to him (much to James' irritation and surprise).  
"Hey, Sev." She smiled at him as he looked up, and he could only stare. But, finally, words tumbled out of his mouth hurriedly.  
"Lily, I am so sorry, I jumped to conclusions, and it's none of my business anyway, but I don't want you going out with that brat, he's not good enough for you, noone is."  
Lily glanced down and twiddled her thumbs.  
"Would you hate me if I did?"  
Severus could only stare again. "Lily... I would never hate you."  
She smiled up at him again. "Then let's just never talk about him."  
"Sounds good, I guess." He said lamely'  
Just then, Professor Marie Moritia waltzed her way into the room. She was very well-kempt, but not extremely feminine. She was short and slim, but had defined muscles. Her hair was cropped close to her head and styled in an almost swirl-like fashion. Her hair was also a deep purple, a contrast to her large, light green eyes. She was wearing deep red robes that complimented her hair nicely.  
"She's a metamorphagus." Severus explained to Lily's wide eyes.  
"Now, for your first lesson, I'll have you all read the first chapter, 'Ancient Runes and their Properties around the World', and relay to me what you understand. Also, feel free to call me Marie, instead of dallying around with that Professor formality." She winked at the class before continuing in her smooth, alto-like voice, "Also, for those of you who have Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class at 5 pm, I will be seeing you all very often. Now, to work!" She clapped her hands and strode over to her desk.

After Ancient Runes, James hopped hurriedly out of his seat to wrap his hand through Lily's and she told that Snape kid goodbye. They made their way up to the stuffy classroom, and found the corridor deserted once more.  
James attempted the trap door that opened upwards, but it wouldn't budge. "Hmm.." he mused, "Guess we'll have to wait for-"  
He was pleasantly interrupted by Lily's hands entangling themselves in his jet black hair. As his mouth met hers, his left hand went to the small of her back, and his right trailed through her thick, dark red hair.  
Lily thought to herself that this should be weird behaviour for her. But it felt perfectly fine. In fact, it felt right.  
Her leg wrapped itself up to his thigh, and he trailed warm kisses down her neck. His cool hands found their way to her waist under the back Gryffindor sweater and white shirt she wore. She arched against him and twirled her right hand through his hair, the other holding him close to her. She wondered what the awkward-feeling bulge pressing on her hip was when the door burst open, forcing them apart in the surprise. In horror, Lily pulled her shirt down back over her navel, hoping that whoever opened the door wouldn't notice.  
Of course it had to be Severus. Luckily, he wasn't alone, as Professor Jeldine (Yel-deen), a short and plump, but still rather attractive woman, teetered behind him.  
"Very few students this year, only fifteen on the fourth year roll, I suppose that will have to do though." She said in her high, clipped voice.  
James thanked his lucky stars that she had not seen him and Lily. But Snape had.  
He glanced over his shoulder at Snape while Jeldine unlocked the trapdoor. He looked absolutely thunderous. James noticed Lily glancing back at him nervously as well.  
"I.. I should-"  
James put his arm protectively over her shoulders. "If he feels the need to talk to you, I think he won't have a problem with it, but I think you should wait until he cools down."  
Lily swallowed nervously and nodded in agreement, stubborn though she was. However, with the thin crowd of students, Severus was soon directly next to Lily.  
"Don't use your prize too quickly, Potter." He sneered, and Lily's face reddened.  
"Severus-"  
"Listen _Snape,_ Lily will involve herself with whomever she likes. I'm not forcing her to do so with myself, and it wouldn't be my business if it were someone else. However, she isn't your property, and she's damn well kind enough to forgive you for acting like a bastard time and time again. I suggest you try to keep your one quality friend, but that's just advice from an _insufferable git._"  
Snape glared darkly at him before making his way up the ladder, seething in rage. How dare Potter speak to him like that.  
How dare he be so correct.  
"James, you didn't have to do that." Lily said in the smallest voice he had ever heard.  
"Of course I did." He hugged her before placing himself on the wretched poufs that clouded you with dust at the slightest of movements. She placed herself quietly next to him, and Remus sat next to her.  
Their divination class was even more dreary than the previous year's, but it gave them a free period afterwards, since Dumbledore insisted that "students in this class require extra time for devotion to their other subjects, for Divination is very mentally strenuous".  
However, listening to Professor Jeldine rant about her most famous prophecies was most boring indeed. Even Lily found it hard to concentrate, and by the time the hour was up, her eyelids were drooping.  
"We have a free period?" James inquired.  
"Of course we do, didn't you look at your schedule?"  
"Why would I?" he grinned. "I'm going to follow you everywhere anyway, why bother?"  
Lily laughed as they walked down the stairs back to the commonroom to wait for their next period, Potions.  
They sat on the couch, watching the fire that was constantly alight in their commonroom, when James said, "So, er, you seem pretty comfortable around me rather suddenly."  
Lily's face burned. She knew what he was referring to.  
"Yeah, I'm actually not entirely sure why that is."  
"I certainly don't mind," he assured her quickly, "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't some kind of temporary thing that would lead me to irritate you later."  
She giggled at his nervousness and turned to face him properly. "No, it seems rather permanent to me."  
Relief washed over his face as he grinned. "Good. I like knowing you."  
"Mmmhmm." she throated as she brought her face to his once again, pushing his shoulders to the arm of the couch. Her knees were aligned with his hipsas his cool hands once again found the skin of her waist. He pushed himself up, and guided her under him so they were almost opposite the side of the couch.  
She couldn't help it; her hands found their way under his shirt to the toned muscle of his abdomen, and then to his back. His mouth found itself at the right side of her collarbone.  
"Are you okay?" He asked huskily.  
"Oh yes." she managed.  
She felt his lips twitch upwards at her breathlessness, then continue across her clavicle when he stopped.  
She looked inquiringly at him as he rebuttoned the top two of her shirt that seemed to have come undone (Eek, she thought), and brought her under his arm again.  
"I'm not going to make you go through this so quickly. I waited three years for you to stop scowling at me, I can wait a little longer for.. other stuff." He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.  
"Fine. But if I tell you in all certainty that I want something, you had damned well let me have at it." She poked his ribs as he laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

_They made their way to Potions, where the tables were set so that two people from one table faced two from another. Sirius and Remus sat together at one, while James and Lily sat at the other.__  
__Severus was paired with Evan Rosier, a fourth year Slytherin. Just as Lily noted this, a whisper came from behind her. "Lily! Do you have a dress to wear to the Ball this evening?"__  
__She had almost completely forgotten! She turned to Alice and admitted that she did not.__  
__ "__Well, you're smaller than I am and much taller than Molly, " Molly, with her bright orange, curly hair, smiled at Lily brightly, "And I want different shoes anyway. Why don't we head to a consignment in Hogsmeade after transfiguration? That way, we'll still have about 4 hours!"__  
__ "__That sounds great!" Lily said. She was still scolding herself for forgetting when James said, "It doesn't matter what you find, you're not going to get any more beautiful."__  
__Lily blushed as Sirius gushed girlishly, "Oh Padfoot that's sooo nice of you! I can't wait for you to see my dress!" This comment brought loud guffaws from most of the Gryffindors (especially from the girls, as Sirius hadn't a date to the ball yet). __  
__Lily noticed the girl behind Sirius, with bubble-gum pink hair, push his head forward playfully and then turn around to her work.__  
__ "__Who is she?" Lily inquired. She looked familiar, but she didn't remember anyone with pink hair in her lifetime, let alone in their year..__  
__ "__That's Nymphadora Tonks," Remus answered, slightly loftily, "She's a Metamorphagus, like Professor Marie. And she's one of Sirius' cousins that he actually likes being around." Sirius grinned.__  
__ "__Nice to have relatives like her. Keeps me sane, that's a definite."__  
__Slughorn tapped on his desk impatiently. Their lesson continued rather boringly as he asked them to simply brew what they thought was the most interesting potion from last year, and see if the table across could identify it.__  
__Lily suggested a Hypnotic Draft, and James agreed, saying that he hadn't payed enough attention last year to even identify someone else's, let alone brew one. She shook her head and got to work, pushing the book over to him.__  
__10 minutes before the end of the hour, everyone was finished, and Lily's potion was a satisfying clear orange with an extra-fluid consistency.__  
__Sirius and Remus stared, trying to guess, and flipped through the fourth year textbook (They had brewed a mild sleeping draft, which Lily identified immediately by the scent of mildew and white fumes) when Slughorn waltzed to their table.__  
__ "__Well well well, seems Miss Evans' and Mister Potter's potion is the only one left unrecognized. Mr Snape, if you don't mind?"__  
__Severus craned his neck to glance at their cauldron, and lazily said, "Hypnotic Draft, induces slight euphoria followed by several hours of feelings chosen by the brewer, despite who drinks it."__  
__ "__Very good, Severus, 10 points to Slytherin!" Slughorn said proudly. "Well, the hour is up, move along, move along!"__  
__Lily's classes passed by dreadfully slowly until Transfiguration, where she noticed Professor Marie again. Lily sat in the front row between James and Sirius, with Peter and Lupin on either side of them.__  
__ "__Okay class," McGonagall said in her usual tone of authority, "for the next week, we will be learning about human transfiguration. Or, in more formal terms, Metamorphagi. I deemed it appropriate to start our year with this, as we have two sitting in this very classroom. Ms. Marie?"__  
__Marie stood to her full height, and immediately had everyone's attention. "Wow..." Sirius muttered, "She can't possibly be but barely of teaching age! She's.. she's... gorgeous."__  
__Marie cleared her throat. "Who likes the color of my hair?" The majority of the class raised their hands, including Severus in the back, but a slytherin girl near the front held her chin haughtily and crossed her arms. Marie smiled and pointed to her. "You, what colour would you prefer my hair to be?"__  
__ "__I wouldn't mind you bald." the girl sneered.__  
__Marie closed her eyes in concentration, and suddenly, her hair was gone, with protests from the class.__  
__ "__Calm down everyone. I am a metamorphagus. Which means that I have the rare ability to change my appearance at will, rather than with the use of potions or spells. I am currently an Auror in training, as my ability is highly useful to the Ministry of Magic." She smiled. "Questions? No? Well then," she clasped her hands behind her back. "Nymphadora Tonks?" __  
__ "__Just Tonks, please!" She squeaked in embarrassment. Lily noticed that her hair was a light brown, now, instead of bright pink. Lily must have never noticed her because of her changing it so often.__  
__ "__Tonks, then." Marie smiled again, "You are a metamarphagus? Did you inherit from your mother or father?"__  
__ "__Neither. It skipped my father's generation and passed to me." She said confidently.__  
__ "__Good! That is everyone's first lesson in Chapter 22 or your Transfiguration textbook. The trait of metamorphagi will always skip at least one, if not many more, generations of a family. For some families, like my own, it is unexpected, for the records of a metamorphagus in the family date back to far to be bothered with. However, in Tonks' case, her grandmother is a metamorphagus, so her immediate family was well aware of the possibility."__  
__The rest of the hour was very interesting, and Marie spent several minutes near the end of class changing her hair color and asking for student's opinions. She finally settled with her classic deep purple and tipped it with midnight blue as they were dismissed.__  
__ "__Lily! Lily!" Alice, Tonks, and Molly called towards her.__  
__James chuckled. "I'll take your books back to the dorms for you, ladies. You're all sharing a room, right?"__  
__ "__But.. the staircase turns into a slide when boys try to go up it!" Molly protested.__  
__Sirius just rolled his eyes and winked as he took her and Tonks' books.__  
__As they made their way to Hogsmeade behind McGonagall and Hagrid, Alice chattered about how handsome Sirius was.__  
__ "__Alice," Molly said, "That's my cousin. Please, restrain yourself before Tonks or I does it."__  
__ "__Sorry." she blushed, "I already have a date anyway. Frank Longbottom asked me."__  
__ "__You're going to look cute together. He's lost a lot of weight since last year." Lily commented.__  
__Alice blushed, and pointed out the large consignment shop ahead.__  
__It was slightly stuffy, but very large. It wasn't stuffy in a dreary, depressing way though. There were just so many racks!__  
__ "__Welcome, dearies!" a tiny voice chirped somewhere beside them. "Shoes are in the back corner, and formalwear for you ladies will be in front of it." The stout woman pushed herself onto the next aisle, organizing by sizes and colour of men's sweaters as they made their way to the back.__  
__Lily gazed at the several racks of formalwear, not knowing where to start. Alice and Molly made their way to the shoes, leaving Tonks with her to find dresses.__  
__Tonks smiled brightly. "Well, let's start here!" she gestured to the nearest rack. "What colour were you thinking of?"__  
__Lily blushed. James had said that blue would look nice on her. "Are there any shades of blue that would look nice?__  
__ "__Hmmm... A midnight colour, maybe. If you let me twist your hair up, you could go with a medium blue."__  
__ "__Midnight sounds fine." Lily smiled. "What colours are you coordinating on yourself? And who are you going with?" __  
__Tonks blushed as pink as her hair. "I asked Remus to go with me. He said yes, thankfully."__  
__ "__That's wonderful!" Lily said, happy that someone as shy as him had attracted Tonks' attention. "He's really nice."__  
__Tonks grinned and nodded her agreement. "I was thinking of going dirty blonde, with more blonde at the top and brown at the tips. Maybe about at my shoulders?"__  
__ "__That sounds really pretty." Lily said.__  
__ "__Thanks," Tonks replied, "I think I'll go with any simple, nice dress I can find though. I can alter my skintone to match, to a degree."__  
__Their hunt through the multiple racks of dresses took almost an hour, but at last, they had each found two to try on. Lily had selected two midnight blue dresses. One was short, strapless, with a corset-style top and fluffy skirt that came several inches above her knee. She liked this one because it was so similar to a bright red dress that Tonks had chosen, only hers had white beading, and Tonks' had red beading to match.__  
__The second dress that Lily tried was long, but much more.. revealing than the other. It was of soft satin, and draped rather low down the front and even lower down her back, and the fabric gathered at two elegant, flat knots on her shoulders. She examined the neckline more closely and blushed at how much it revealed of her pale chest.__  
__She heard the changing room door creak as Tonks exited wearing her second choice; An olive green, strapless velvet dress that flared out at her knees, and ended mid-calf.__  
__Lily gaped. It looked gorgeous!__  
__Tonks gaped back at her, only for a different reason, and then giggled. "Lily, you are just absolutely scandalous!" She exclaimed. And of course, Molly and Alice rushed over to see what she was talking about and gaped as well.__  
__ "__Oh, Potter will have a fit!" Molly giggled.__  
__ "__He'll probably pass out and tumble down the stairs." Alice chortled.__  
__Lily blushed a bright red as her eyes traveled down herself in the mirror. And once again, her eyes settled on her chest. Sure, the dress showed the curve from her waist to her hips nicely, but her chest was the main attraction here. It wasn't scandalous in a way that was.. well, some kind of scarlet woman, but more elegant and classy than that.__  
__But still.__  
__ "__Come on, Lily. We'll find some shoes that look decent with that, and a silver pendant." Alice nudged her. __  
__They only took a short time finding shoes (Lily found a nice pair of black strappy heels with silver flowers in the center, and Tonks found some made of olive leather that matched her dress perfectly.) __  
__ "__I have a pendant you can borrow, actually." Molly suggested. "It matches the flowers on your shoes."__  
__ "__Wow, thanks Molly!" Lily sighed. She didn't feel like sorting through mounds of jewelry, so they paid for their selections and went back to Hogwarts.__  
__As soon as they were back in their room, they realized that they had almost two hours left.__  
__ "__I'm taking a nap." Lily said immediately.__  
__ "__Alright," Tonks replied, "I'll wake you at a quarter past."__  
__Lily stripped down to her underthings and snuggled under the fluffy comforter and sheets. It was always so cool in the dorms, she thought, before drifting into a dreamless slumber._


	4. Chapter 4

Lily was awoken, what seemed like moments later, by Tonks prodding her shoulder. "C'mon Lils, let's get dressed so we can go with Molly and Alice to take pictures!"  
Lily slipped into her dress and shoes. She decided that simple makeup would do, silver eyeshadow with black liner. She allowed Tonks to style her hair into a neat pile on the top of her head.  
She and Tonks walked down to the commonroom, abuzz with chatter, where Molly and Alice waited, along with Frank, Lupin and Sirius, and a girl she recognized but had never met.  
"Hey Lily," Sirius grinned, "This is Rosmerta. Her dad owns the Three Broomsticks." He winked at her.  
Rosmerta was very pretty. She had full lips, large brown eyes, and a tiny nose, topped with wavy caramel-coloured hair. She was also, Lily noted, rather voluptuous in her bright turquoise dress.  
"Hi Lily." Rosmerta smiled. It had none of the fakeness Lily expected.  
"Hello Rosmerta. Nice to meet you."  
"Oh, here Lily, I brought your necklace!" Molly handed her a velvet choker, with a silver rose hanging from a vine-like chain off of the center.  
"I'll help you with that." James' voice rang in her ear, as he slipped the choker around her neck and buttoned it gently.  
"Hehehe, thank you." She flushed. She looked down as she wondered what Severus was doing. Did anyone ask him? Was he coming alone? If he's alone, I'm going to dance with him! Lily thought to herself.  
"Pettigrew's sick, and he hates socializing anyway." Remus clarified.  
They made their way to the Great Hall, where plenty of people were already dancing to a band that Lily didn't recognize. They were almost jazzy, if not for the loud lead guitarist turning into a more rock genre.  
"Would you rather walk through the gardens while they filter through the more.. exciting music?" James suggested.  
"Sure."  
They walked for several minutes, and came upon a cushioned bench in front of a fountain.  
"I'm guessing your feet hurt, since I can almost see your face now."  
Lily did her best to scowl at him, but the corners of her mouth twitched upwards and he grinned triumphantly. "I knew it. Let's sit down for a bit. They're still on the rambunctious songs, anyway."  
Lily didn't object. In fact, she pushed herself as close to James as she could, listening to the rush of water from the fountain and James' breathing.  
"James?"  
"Hmm?"  
"How hard is it to sneak a girl into the boys' dorms after a dance?"  
His eyebrows shot up, and he laughed. "Dumbledore usually ignores that stuff after a dance. He likes to give the students leeway sometimes." He winked at her, confirming her suspicions about Dumbledore's understanding nature.  
She giggled.  
"You know, Lily, you really do look beautiful."  
She looked up at him. "You'd be able to compete if you could get your damned hair to stay down!"  
He barked a laugh. "Doesn't matter what spells or products Sirius tries, it's always the same." He pouted fakely at her. "Are you saying you don't like it? You seemed to like it earlier today." His voice grew huskier towards the end, and he leaned over to her face. Lily tangled her fingers in his hair.  
"I _love _it." she murmured against his mouth.  
"Thank merlin. I would cut it, if it weren't for that it would grow back in a day."  
She smiled and realized that she didn't doubt that in the slightest. However, by the time James' mouth found her collarbone, and his hands found her waist over the thin satin, she had trouble remembering what she didn't doubt.  
She was startled by James' kisses finding their way farther down than she expected. When he reached the crease of her cleavage, she pulled his face back to her own.  
"Sorry." He whispered.  
"I want to leave _something_ to your imagination." she grinned as they both panted, out of breath.  
"We should go back."  
"That's probably a good idea." She agreed.  
When they got back to the Great Hall, there was a soft, classical jazz tune that she couldn't quite place playing. Obviously for slow dancing, James lead her out towards the center. He was a surprisingly good dancer, leading her through so many people rather gracefully. As nice as she felt, she couldn't help but be distracted.  
"What is it, Lily?"  
Lily looked up into his bright blue eyes behind perfectly round glasses and sighed. "I was half expecting Severus to be here, even though i know he would never attend this sort of thing."  
James grimaced, not making an attempt to hide his irritation or disgust with Severus Snape. Snape didn't appreciate anything about Lily. He expected her kindness to always be there for him to test its limits, for his own entertainment. He never returned any of her kindnesses.  
"Lily, he's just going to hurt you again. He always does." James said quietly.  
"I know." She said this so confidently, so matter-of-factly, James stopped on the edge of the floor and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "But I'm going to help him anyway. What if I change something for the better about him in the longrun? I can't simply abandon him because he lashes out once in a while. If everyone abandoned their friends when they did that, everyone would be alone."  
James sighed. There was no talking to Lily in a negative way about Severus, so he would drop it. As he was about to voice this, a head of wavy, black, shoulder-length hair popped behind Lily's shoulder, making them both jump. Sirius laughed pleasantly, and asked, "Hey Prongs, mind if I have a dance?"  
Lily didn't know whether he meant her or James, but laughed along as Sirius said "Sorry Lily, I'll come back for you!" and twirled James out to the center. She searched around frantically for the smooth, shiny black hair that she knew so well, and to her own surprise, she found it! Severus was here! She rushed over to the entrance nearest to the Slytherin Dungeons and wrapped her arms around him.  
"Hello Lily." She heard his deep, droning voice as he lightly returned her hug.  
"Sev! I was sure you wouldn't come. What made you change your mind?" She grinned so widely it almost hurt her cheeks.  
"Boredom." He tried so hard to look bored, but the corners of his lips twitched treacherously upwards.  
She scowled at him in good nature. "Well as long as you're here, I'm going to make you dance. And don't say you weren't expecting it, Sev!" She grinned once more as she pushed him towards the center of the floor and took his hand. "Fine, _I'll _lead then."  
Severus rolled his eyes but finally allowed himself to properly view her. Almost immediately, a question came to mind. What could have possibly possessed Lily Evans to wear something so... He couldn't find an appropriate word other than "revealing" but that just didn't seem to cut it. Any skin that wasn't showing may as well have been, for the soft, dark satin hugged her every curve perfectly. In fact, Severus realized why she was getting even more treacherous leers than Narcissa Black, a Seventh year with long, white blonde hair, wearing a silver dress that seemed to be flowing without a breeze.  
But this was so unlike Lily.. He couldn't decide whether he liked it or not. He didn't like it because... well this was Lily, showing so much of herself to _everyone._ On another hand, his teenage mind said, he could finally see it. And that thought disgusted him further. Determined to distract himself from this, he looked over to see Sirius Black and Potter twirling their way past giggling girls in scandalous dressed that were much less elegant than Lily's. Arrogant gits.  
With a start, Severus realized that his right hand was pressing Lily firmly against himself. And that he was doing so by the bare skin of her back. He wondered idly how the rest of her skin felt... Her shoulders, her neck, her-  
"Sev? You okay? You're bright red!" Lily giggled, thankfully snapping his mind from further ventures.  
"Am I ever okay?" He smiled slightly down at her. Even in heels, she was short. No less beautiful because of this, though. As his eyes slid down to her face, he couldn't help but notice what he recognized as Molly Percival's choker, the one with the silver rose. And the rose was hanging directly above the crease of her cleavage, revealed by the hanging satin.  
"I suppose not." She grimaced. "But I'm forcing you to be happy tonight!" She clung to him more tightly.  
Why, WHY did she have to do that? His head swam with jealousy and her perfect scent of lilacs as he noticed Potter and Black making their way to them. He didn't feel like fighting with those twats in front of Lily. Not right now, at least.  
"I've a terrible headache, Lily. Enjoy the rest of your evening." He muttered, as he made his way back to the Slytherin commonroom.

"I don't like where his hand is." James muttered, as he observed Snape's hand on the low of Lily's back.  
"Then don't look where his eyes are, Prongs." Sirius said. Of course, James did look. And Snape's eyes were travelling their way down from Lily's face, to her neck, to-  
"Yeah I think I'll be letting you have your dance with her, Padfoot." James said irritably as he strode towards Snape and Lily. Snape looked up to notice the, muttered something to Lily, and disappeared into the crowd of Slytherins.  
"I'll take it from here!" Sirius grinned, as he place his hand more appropriately on her waist and lead her around.  
And Lily couldn't help but laugh. He was always so high-spirited, he seemed to brighten everyone's mood around him. He had even managed a laugh from McGonagall once or twice in the past three years.  
"Having fun, Sirius?" Lily grinned. Sirius was closer to her height than James or Severus was, making it easier to talk and dance simultaneously.  
"Not as much as Prongs was." he said wickedly, and winked as her face turned bright red.  
"He _told you that?_"  
Sirius laughed loudly. "No, but you did!"  
Her face turned an even darker shade of red as she tried desperately not to laugh with him.  
"Alright, I won't bother." He smiled handsomely, "But James is my best friend, and any girlfriend of his can be considered my best friend too. Especially when she has a brain."  
She laughed. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."  
He smiled again and leaned closer. "Also, I'll be staying in Moony's room tonight." He winked, and Lily punched him on the shoulder as he barked a laugh.  
"Problems?" James grinned.  
"Yes," she said as Sirius finished snickering, "I'm tired of being passed around and would like very much if two certain someones would let me _eat_."  
"Your cue, Prongs, Rosmerta looks irritable. Wouldn't want her dress to pop if she strains herself.. Well.." Sirius winked and strolled over to Alice, Frank and Rosmerta.  
"That never gets irritating?" Lily asked.  
"Oh, all the time." James replied.  
Lily was much hungrier than she originally realized. In fact, she ate more than James did, causing him to raise his eyebrows and snicker multiple times.  
"Shut up!" she shot as she wiped her mouth.  
"So ladylike, gentle, and polite." James commented.  
She did her best to scowl at him as he helped her up from her seat.  
"Oh wow, it's almost 11:30!" She said as they made their way back to the dormitories.  
James stopped and fished a cloak from behind a pillar. "Put this on."  
"I'm not cold!"  
He grinned mischievously. "It's not for warmth. Just put it on."  
She obliged. She could see through the filmy material more than you would normally be able to, and when she looked down, she realized why.  
_This is an Invisibility Cloak!_  
"So this is how you've snuck around under McGonagall and Slughorn's noses for the past three years." she muttered.  
James chuckled. "Just follow me."  
Those words didn't register until the Fat Lady's portrait swung open. He was taking her up to the boy's dormitory. Again, she found herself worrying what she thought about this.  
Sweet merlin, what had happened to her thought process?


End file.
